Ben Hardin

Of Counsel

Houston

713-951-4218
bhardin@hartlinebarger.com
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Judge Ben Hardin (Martin Benjamin Hardin, Jr.) was born on August 13, 1947, in the Dow Hospital in Freeport, Texas to Martin Benjamin Hardin and Emily Clyde Sims Hardin. The Hardin family lived in Lake Jackson, Texas where Hardin’s father worked in the Dow Chemical Company’s engineering department as an estimator. The family included the Judge’s older half-sister, Clinta Ann Rayburn Steele, who lived in Sacramento, California. She died in 1995 shortly after he took office.

Judge Hardin’s father died of heart disease in March, 1955. Beginning that same year, his mother went to work at Sharon Insurance Agency in Lake Jackson, which was owned by James F. Crews and John T. Suggs. Mrs. Hardin managed the agency until after Judge Hardin left for college.

He graduated from Brazosport High School in 1965, having been named a National Merit Scholarship finalist during his senior year. During high school, Judge Hardin was active in the band, winning a gold medal in clarinet competition his sophomore year at the State UIL solo contest in Austin.

After graduation, Judge first enrolled at Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland, Ohio. Case was the alma mater of Herbert Dow, who founded the Dow Chemical Company.

One semester in Cleveland was enough, however, and he transferred to the University of Texas at Austin. Judge Hardin was originally a chemical engineering/chemistry major but received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature with minors in history and government.

In his senior year, Judge Hardin took the Law School Admission Test and was admitted to the class which was scheduled to begin at the University of Texas School of Law in the fall of 1969. However, he had to postpone his enrollment in the law school to fulfill his military obligation. Relying on his musical skills, he auditioned for and won a position as a clarinetist with the 236th Army National Guard Band, which was the office National Guard Band of Texas, stationed at Camp Mabry in Austin.

Judge Hardin enrolled at the University of Texas School of Law in the fall of 1970 and graduated in May, 1973. During his senior year, he was a legislative aide for a member of the Texas House of Representatives during the 1973 Legislative term.

After graduation from law school, Judge Hardin received a coveted position as a law clerk for Judge Hal Woodward, the United States District Judge for the Northern District of Texas for the Lubbock, Amarillo, and San Angelo Divisions. During his one-year clerkship, he served with the Honorable Jerry Smith, who is now a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which includes Texas.

In June, 1974, he returned to Lake Jackson to practice law. He was in private practice in the Brazosport area continually until his appointment as a District Judge.

In the fall of 1994, Judge Neil Caldwell, who had been judge of the 23rd District Court since 1977, announced his plans to retire at the end of the year. Governor George W. Bush took office in January, 1995, shortly after Judge Caldwell’s retirement on December 31, 1994. On March 31, 1995, Judge Hardin received word from the Governor’s office that he had been selected by the Governor to fill the vacancy created by Judge Caldwell’s retirement.

Judge Hardin took office on May 10, 1995 after closing his private law practice. During his tenure on the bench, he has tried many cases, civil, family, and criminal, both jury and nonjury.

The 23rd District Court is a court of general jurisdiction and handles civil cases as well as felony criminal cases. The 23rd District Court, which is one of the oldest courts in the State of Texas, covered Brazoria, Matagorda, and Wharton Counties. Brazoria County was removed from the 23rd District executive August 31, 2019 by the Texas Legislature in its 2019 term. The removal of Brazoria County from the District was a culmination of a 15-year vendetta against Judge Hardin by Dennis Bonnen who was then the Speaker of the Texas House. It is the only multi-county district court serving any of these counties. Judge Hardin’s initial term expired on December 31, 1996. Judge Hardin has run for re-election seven times, always without an opponent. He retired on December 31, 2024 due to the state constitutional provision that a person may not file for election as a District Judge if the new term would begin after the person is 75 years old.

On August 4, 2016, around 11:45 a.m., when Judge Hardin was walking in a pedestrian crossing to the Brazoria County courthouse, he was struck by a pickup truck going about 25 miles per hour. According to a bystander’s statement to police, he “flew through the air like a ball” and landed about 30 feet away. After lying on the hot pavement for what seemed like a day, he was transported by ambulance several blocks to a large parking lot. There he was put in a Life Flight helicopter and transported to Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Houston Medical Center. He was finally released, after stints in the hospital, TIRR, and finally a nursing home, on July 23, 2018. On July 30th he returned to full-time duty as District Judge.

Judge Hardin is married to Suzanne Harrington Hardin, who was raised in the Westbury area of Houston. The Hardins have two sons, Trey and Sims, and three grandchildren, Frank, Brett, and Whitt.

Education

The University of Texas School of Law, J.D., 1973

The University of Texas at Austin, B.A. in English Literature & Minors in History and Government, 1969

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